MONOGRAPH
OE THE
T R O
G O N I D M,
T R O
OR
G O N S.
BY
JOHN GOULD, F.R.S. &c.
TO BE COMPLETED IN FOUR PARTS.
PART IV.
CONTENTS.
Title.
Dedication.
Preface.
Introduction.
Synopsis of the Species.
List of Plates.
Pharomacrus auriceps (immature male J.
Trogon tenellus.
Trogon atricollis.
-collaris.
*-variegatus.
-behni.
-macrurus.
--- citreolus.
-meridionalis.
Harpactes erythrocephalus.
LONDON:
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 26, CHARLOTTE STREET, BEDFORD SQUARE.
[Price Three Guineas .] SEPTEMBER 1st, 1875.
[Notice is hereby given that the Author of this “Monograph of the Trogonidee ” reserves to himself a
right of publishing a Translation in France.]
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TO THE BINDER.
Arrange the Work in the following order:
HARVARD UNIVERSITY LIBRARY.
This book is deposited temporarily in the
IAbrary of the
M: -se!•>: of comp. ZooUf ^ Y
ktion.
e.
uction.
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sis of the Species.
Plates.
The Plates and Descriptions in accordance
with the List of Plates.
All the Plates and Letterpress having been hot-
pressed, there is no occasion for interleaving.
A
A
MONOGRAPH
Jl
i
of y
E T ROfJON I HE.
FAMILY OF TROGONS.
JOHN GOULD, F.R.S. &c.
£X?C.
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LONDON:
PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 26 CHARLOTTE STREET, BEDFORD SQUARE.
1875.
TO
HIS GRACE
THE DUKE OF ARGYLL, K.T., F.R.S., &c..
IN TESTIMONY OE
APPRECIATION OE HIS LIFE-LONG INTEREST IN ORNITHOLOGY, AND WITH A DEEP SENSE OF THE
VALUE, IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF OTHER SCIENCES, OF THE ORIGINAL
RESEARCHES TO WHICH HE HAS DEVOTED THE
PORTION OF TIME WHICH COULD BE SPARED FROM THE DISCHARGE OF IMPORTANT
PUBLIC DUTIES,
®{jis jitantir €Yitm\ uf
A MONOGRAPH OF THE TROGONIDiE,
OR FAMILY OF TROGONS,
%
IS DEDICATED,
BY
THE AUTHOR
PREFACE.
The ‘ Trogonidse ’ was the second Monograph undertaken by me, and was published in
1838. I quote the following phrases from my preface to the original edition, as it shows
our position in regard to this family of birds nearly forty years ago, after the most
strenuous exertions to arrive at a complete knowledge of them :—
“Having brought this Monograph to a close, I am led to hope that my labours in
the elucidation of a tribe of birds hitherto involved in much confusion will not be
destitute of some degree of value, more especially in the eyes of ornithologists, introducing
to their notice, as it does, many new species, and clearing up the difficulties with which
many of those even common in our cabinets have been previously surrounded,—difficulties
arising from several causes, among which may be enumerated the differences in plumage
which obtain so often between the males and females, as well as between the young
males and the adults of the same sex, in some of the minor groups; to which may
lie added the circumstance of the subject not having been attempted by naturalists
possessing command of those ample resources necessary for extricating the subject from
the labyrinth of confusion in which it has long been involved.
“ It would be presumptuous in me to say that this Monograph is fully completed, or
that I have figured every existing species; on the contrary, I have reason to believe
that many will yet be discovered, both in the Old and New World, particularly in
those remote regions which civilized man has seldom, if ever, visited: but in order to
render the work complete up to the present time, I have not only done my utmost to
add every species to my own collection, hut have visited all the principal Museums of
Europe, both public and private, and, as in previous instances, have experienced the
greatest kindness and cooperation from the various eminent naturalists, private indivi¬
duals, and the officers of the natural-history department of every public institution.
Indeed, without the liberality I have experienced, it would be impossible that a work
VI
PREFACE.
of this nature could have been successfully completed; and I am proud to bear my tes¬
timony to the liberal spirit which has been manifested towards me by the scientific world
in general. Among those to whom I am especially indebted I may mention the Earl of
Derby, Prince Massena, of Paris, M. Temminck, M. John Natterer, of Vienna, Dr. Lichten¬
stein, of Berlin, W. Swainson, Esq., Sir William Jardine, Bart., and T. C. Eyton, Esq. My
thanks are also due to my friend Mr. Martin, of the Zoological Society of London, for the
kind manner in which he has at all times rendered me his assistance in this and my other
publications.”
Of the honoured friends mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, only one, Mr. Eyton,
remains to me; all the others, alas! have passed away. In writing again a preface to
a Monograph of the Trogonidse, it is impossible not to recall their memory with a sigh ;
but at the same time it would be wrong to allow regrets to mingle with the acknowledgments
which are due to my friends and coadjutors of the present day. It is with pleasure that
I recognize the fact that for every single student of ornithology to be found forty
years ago, there are at least twenty now; and I cannot close these remarks without
recording my obligations to Dr. Sclater, Mr. Salvin, and Mr. Bowdler Sharpe for the
assistance they have rendered me in the preparation of this second edition. With the
history of this family will also be remembered the names of Mr. Lawrence and
Professor Baird in America, Dr. Finsch of Bremen, Herr A. von Pelzeln of Vienna, and
especially Drs. Cabanis and Heine, who, in their well-known ‘Museum Ileineanum,'
have given a very elaborate descriptive review of the family; and, although not acqui¬
escing in all their conclusions, I must acknowledge my frequent obligations to this
useful work.
Lastly I have to remark that, although I entitle this work a second edition of
the Trogonidse, it is in reality a new publication, all the plates having been redrawn,
and many new species figured for the first time, so as to bring the history of the
family down to the present day.
4
INTRODUCTION.
I
At the commencement of the Introduction to the first edition I stated that, in selecting
the family of Trogons as the subject of my second Monograph, I was influenced by
the full conviction, not only that it was one fraught with interest, but that much was
left buried in obscurity, which when brought to light would materially tend to the
advancement of ornithology. That my language was justified has been amply proved
during the course of nearly forty years which have elapsed since those words were written;
for instead of the thirty-four different kinds then figured, we are now acquainted with
forty-six species of Trogons, thirty-three of them being American, eleven Indian and Indo-
Malayan, and two African.
As their general structure and their habits sufficiently indicate, the Trogons belong
to the fissirostral tribe of the Insessores. Greatly insectivorous, they seize the flitting
insect from the leaves of trees, which their wide gape enables them to do with facility;
while their feeble tarsi and feet are such as to qualify them merely for resting on the
branches as a post of observation whence to mark their prey, and to which, having given
chase, to return. As in all other groups, however, we shall find modifications of the
type, constituting the ground of generic or subgeneric divisions.
“The Trogons may dispute the palm of beauty with the Humming-birds. Their
plumage in certain parts shines with metallic brilliancy, and exhibits all the colours of
the rainbow. On other parts the tints, though opaque, are not less rich and splendid;
but a very short neck, feet disproportioned to their figure and bulk, and a long and broad
tail injure the harmony of their form, and give them a heavy port and aspect. Their
Vlll
INTRODUCTION.
long attenuated feathers, with barbs disarranged and luxuriant, make them appear more bulky
than they really are. These too are so feebly implanted, that they fall at the slightest
agitation ; and their skin is so delicate that it will tear at the slightest tension.”
“These birds are solitary and extremely jealous of their freedom. They never fre¬
quent inhabited or open tracts. They delight in the silence of deserts, where they even
fly the society of their consimilars. The interior of the thickest forests is their chosen
abode for the entire year. They are sometimes seen on the summit of trees ; but in general
they prefer the centre, where they remain a portion of the day without descending to
the ground, or even to the lower branches. Here they lie in ambush for the insects
which pass within their reach, and seize them with address and dexterity. Their flight
is lively, short, vertical and undulating. Though they thus conceal themselves in the
thick foliage, it is not through distrust; for when they are in an open space, they may
be approached so nearly as to be struck with a stick. They are rarely heard to utter
any cries, except during the season of reproduction; and then their voice is strong,
sonorous, monotonous, and melancholy. They have many cries, from the sound of one of
which their name is derived.”
9
“All those whose habits are known nestle in the holes of worm-eaten trees, which
they enlarge with their bills, so as to form a comfortable and roomy residence. The
number of eggs is from two to four; and the young are born totally naked ; but their
feathers begin to start two or three days after their birth.”
The position of the Trogonidae in the ‘ Systema Naturae ’ has been, and still is,
a subject of debate amongst ornithologists; but that the family is a very homogeneous one
is admitted on all hands. Professor Huxley, in his Classification of Birds (P. Z. S. 1867,
p. 467), places the Trogons in the Coccygomorphae, in which are associated a number of
families of birds under the following arrangement:—
a. The first toe turned forwards, as well as the others.
Coliidae.
INTRODUCTION.
IX
b. The fourth toe temporarily or permanently turned backwards, as well as the first.
Musophagidse. Ramphastidae.
Cuculidse. Capitonidae.
Bucconidae. Galbulidae.
c. The second, third, and fourth toes turned forwards, the first backwards.
Alcedinidae. Meropidae.
Bucerotidae. Momotidae.
Upupidae. Coraciidae.
d. The first and second toes permanently turned backwards, the third and fourth forwards.
Trogonidae.
From this it will be seen that the Trogonidae stand alone in this last group in the
curious arrangement of the toes. Other differences of internal structure are also observable,
amongst which may be mentioned the presence of the basipterygoid processes in the skull,
which are not seen in the other families mentioned above.
Mr. Wallace, in his admirable paper on a natural arrangement of birds (Ann. N. Ii.
1856, vol. xviii. p. 197), has the following remarks on the Trogons, which he places in the
Fissirostral series between the Goatsuckers (though at some distance from the latter) and the
Jacamars, Motmots, &c. He writes:—“We must observe that many continental ornitho¬
logists still place the Trogons among the climbers, because they have their toes placed
two and two, whereas those of the Kingfishers are arranged as in the majority of birds.
But this is a point of detail which does not in the least affect the habits ; for the toes
are in both cases connected together at their basis so as to form a broad sole, giving
a firm support to the bird without grasping. In both the leg is equally short and weak;
and in both all the habits depending on the feet are precisely similar. Of how very
little importance this change in the position of the toes is, unaccompanied by a change
in their form, motion, or mode of connexion with each other, we may judge from
the fact of there being species of Kingfishers and of Woodpeckers with only three toes,
and which yet have no perceptible difference of habits from the rest of the family. It
X
INTRODUCTION.
would be as reasonable (and as unnatural) to withdraw these birds from their respecthe
families and form of them a new three-toed family, as to separate the Kingfishers from
the Trogons for the reasons assigned. As an instance how totally unable the Trogons
are to use their feet for any thing like climbing, we may mention that the Trogons
of South America feed principally on fruit, which one would think they would get by
climbing or walking after if they could. But no; they take their station on a bare branch
about the middle of the tree, and having fixed their attention on some particular tempting
fruit they dart at it, seize it dexterously on the wing, and return to their original seat.
Often while waiting under a fruit-tree for Chatterers or Pigeons, have we received the
first intimation of the presence of a Trogon by the ‘ whir-r-r ’ of its wings as it darted after
a fruit. It is curious that this habit seems confined to the Trogons of America. In
the East I have never yet observed it, and in the numerous specimens I have opened
nothing has been found but insects. The African Trogons also appear to be wholly
insectivorous.”
Mr. Salvin has also kindly forwarded a note on the American Trogons, as they have
come under his observation during his travels :—“In habits, Trogons are inactive whilst
at rest, and they remain a considerable time almost motionless on the branch on which
they are perched. The position of the body when thus resting is nearly vertical, and
the tail hangs at but a slight angle from the vertical line. Their flight is short, rapid, and
spasmodic; but they appear to seize most of their food, whether it be insect or fruit,
when on the wing. Of the former, the larvae are mostly preferred, and I have not
unfrequently found large caterpillars in the stomachs of those I shot.
“ Trogons are usually found singly or in pairs; but I have, when m pursuit of Quezals,
on rare occasions seen several individuals at one time. Then, perhaps excited by the cabs
of the hunter, they evince unusual activity, and fly from tree to tree and branch to
branch uttering a chattering note. Trogons always remain under the shade of the
forest-trees. They are to be met with on boughs at some distance from the ground,
but not in the tops of the trees.”
Mr. Belt, in his entertaining work ‘ The Naturalist in Nicaragua ’ (pp. 122, 123),
gives a note on the birds of this family met with in that country:
“ The Trogons are general feeders. I have taken from their crops the remains
of fruits, grasshoppers, beetles, termites, and even small crabs and land-shells. Three
species are not uncommon in the forest round San Domingo. In all of them
the females are dull brown or slaty black on the back and neck, these parts being
beautiful bronze-green in the male. The largest species (Trogon massena, Gould) is
1 foot in length, dark bronze-green above, with the smaller wing-feathers speckled white
and black, and the belly of a beautiful carmine. Sometimes it sits on a branch above
where the army of ants are foraging below ; and when a grasshopper or other large insect
flies up and alights on a leaf, it darts after it, picks it up, and returns to its perch.
I sometimes found them breaking into the nests of the termites with their strong hills,
and eating the large soft-bodied workers; and it was from the crop of this species that
I took the remains of a small crab and land-shell ( Helicina ).
Of the two smaller species, one (Trogon atricollis, Vieill.) is bronze-green above,
with speckled black-and-white wings, belly yellow, and under-feathers of the tail barred
with black. The other (Trogon caligatus, Gould) is rather smaller, of similar colours,
excepting the head, whjch is black, and a dark blue collar round the neck.
“Both species take short, quick, jerky flights, and are often met with along with
flocks of other birds (Flycatchers, Tanagers, Creepers, Woodpeckers, &c.), that hunt
together, traversing the forests in flocks of hundreds belonging to more than a score
of different species ; so that whilst they are passing over, the trees seem alive
with them.
“ Mr. Bates has mentioned similar gregarious flocks met with by him in Brazil; and
I never went any distance into the woods around San Domingo without seeing them. The
reason of their association together may be partly for protection, as no rapacious bird or
mammal could approach the flock without being discovered by one or other of them; but the
principal reason appears to be that they play into each other’s hands in their search for food.
XU
INTRODUCTION.
“The Creepers and Woodpeckers and others drive the insects out of their hiding-
places under bark, amongst moss, and in withered leaves. The Flycatchers and Trogons
sit on branches and fly after the larger insects, the Flycatchers taking them on the wing,
the Trogons from the leaves on which they have settled. In the breeding-season the
Trogons are continually calling out to each other, and are thus easily discovered. They
are called "viduas ’ (that is, "widows’) by the Spaniards.”
The habit of consorting with other species was also noticed by my late friend
John Natterer, who, as recorded in my first edition, informed me that he has seen them,
though very rarely, congregating together, and more than one species in company—a
circumstance which he considers may be accounted for on the principle that instinct leads
them by some migratory movement to abandon one district at a certain season of the year in
search of another where food is more abundant. These migrations, however, cannot be
extensive, inasmuch as their wings are not adapted for a lengthened flight; besides which,
every new district of any great extent presents us with its peculiar species; for example,
none of the species inhabiting Mexico has been found in Brazil, and vice versa.
The disposition of the feathers in the Trogonidse is, according to Nitzsch, very similar
to that prevalent in Passerine birds ; but the neck is completely bare for a considerable
space. The feathers are peculiarly soft and dense. The skin of the Trogon is perhaps
thinner and more delicate than that of any other bird, and exceedingly difficult to remove,
as the feathers drop out on the slightest touch; so that many a specimen is spoilt by
the bird falling against a branch after being shot.
Much confusion has arisen in the synonymy of this family from a want of knowledge
of the peculiarities of young and maturing birds. An examination of a very extensive series
shows that the tail-feathers in young individuals are longer and more pointed ; and when barred,
the white bars are wider and less numerous. In the maturing bird the rectrices become
squarer with successive moults, and the amount of white in the bars less in quantity.
The wing-coverts, too, are subject to considerable variation in the young; these are frequently
distinctly mottled with buff, as is shown in the Plates of T. melanocephalus and Pharomacrus
auriceps, juv. These markings are replaced by the style of colours shown in the adult.
INTRODUCTION. xiii
But the variation does not end here; for in such species as possess freckled coverts, the
freckles become finer as the bird becomes older ; and in those in which the coverts are
black, the black becomes purer and more dense. In the case of Pharomacrus mocinno
the young males in their first plumage are only distinguishable from the females by their
more pointed rectrices ; but after they assume the normal colour of the adult bird, the
longer they live the longer and wider the tail-coverts become, the more prolonged the
wing-coverts, and the more elevated the crest.
In the ‘ Comptes Rendus’ for 1857 (vol. xlv. p. 688), Professor Bogdanoff gave an
account of some chemical experiments which he made with the plumes of Pharomacrus
auriceps, and showed that by immersing the red breast-plumes in spirit all the colour
is taken out of them. The red pigment of these feathers he calls “zooxanthine.” We
remember that M. Jules Yerreaux has also stated that in heavv storms of rain, the red
breast of Hapaloderma narina at the Cape becomes completely washed out, and is renewed
again in its full intensity only after an interval of some days. A similar fact is noticed
in the red wing-feathers of the Touracous and in some of the American Chatterers (Cotinga).
In the fourth part of the ‘ Museum Heineanum,’ Messrs. Cabanis and Heine introduce
a number of new generic names into this family of birds. The value of these genera
is very small. Thus we find Pothinus used for a group of yellow-breasted Trogons including
T. aurantiiventris, a species perhaps not properly separable from T. puella, which is left
in true Trogon. The rest of the yellow-breasted Trogons are placed in a genus Aganus •
whilst for T. surucura another generic name, Hapalophorus, is proposed, the species being
in fact most nearly allied to T. aurantius. For the black-tailed Trogons the generic name
Troctes is proposed, and with more reason than in the other instances; but here a sub¬
division seems hardly admissible, seeing that an intermediate species exists in T. clathratus,
which partly closes the gap between Trogon and Troctes. Lastly, the genus Pharomacrus
is divided into two, Tanypeplus and Pharomacrus ; but this, again, seems to me to be carrying
generic subdivision too far.
The species described as Trogon neoxenus and placed, in the first part of this edition
of the ‘ Trogonidse,’ under the new generic name Euptilotis, is also considered by Messrs.
XIV
INTRODUCTION.
Cabanis and Heine to be properly separable; and for it they proposed the name Septuas
in the ‘Museum Heineanum’ (iv. p. 206). Of this scarce species two specimens, an
adult and a young bird exist in the Berlin Museum, besides those mentioned in this work.
The following additional remarks on species are necessary, in order to include the
observations of ornithologists which have been published during the progress of the present
work through the press.
PHAROMACRUS.
P. MOCINNO.
Since the text accompanying the Plate of this species was written, I have noticed
that Bonaparte in his ‘ Conspectus Volucrum Zygodactylorum,’ p. 14, adopts the specific
name mocinno, thus furnishing further evidence in favour of the priority of that name
over his title of paradiseus.
P. AURICEPS.
A name (P. heliactin ) has been proposed by Messrs. Cabanis and Heine (Mus. Hein,
iv. p. 207) for the Ecuadorean race of P. auriceps. It is stated to be smaller than
the more northern bird, but not otherwise different. As specimens from Antioquia are
intermediate in size, and as size alone is a specific character of very doubtful value,
I think that the Ecuadorean bird had best be considered merely a race of P. auriceps
and not a true species. In like manner the P. xanthog aster described by Counts Turati
and Salvadori (P. Z. S. 1874, p. 652), I have little doubt, is a variety of P. auriceps, but
of interest when the relationship of T. aurantiiventris to T. puella is considered.
TROGON.
T. CALIGATUS.
To the synonymy of this species the name T. concinnus must be added; this name
was proposed by Mr. Lawrence for a bird from Panama which must certainly be considered
a young male of T. caligatus.
INTRODUCTION. xv
T. MASSENA.
Costa-Rica specimens of this species are said by Messrs. Cabanis and Heine to be
smaller than Mexican ones, and to show signs of a white breast-band. These authors
suggest that, should these differences prove to be constant, the Costa-Rican bird be called
T. hoffmanni. I have examined a large series from all parts of Central America, and fail
to find any justification for separating the southern bird.
During the progress of the present work, additional information has been published
on the two following species, which I now add:—
Trogon puella.
The range of this species is now known to be much more extensive than formerly
supposed. Its occurrence in Mexico is assured by the receipt of specimens from Senor De Oca,
from the neighbourhood of Jalapa. In Guatemala T. puella is found both in Vera Paz and
in the forests of the great volcanoes of Agua and Fuego, as well as those of the low-lying
lands bordering the Pacific. From Costa Rica many specimens have been sent, collected
chiefly in the forests stretching towards the Atlantic Ocean. Lastly the most southern point
whence I have seen specimens is the volcano of Chiriqui.
Trogon melanocephalus.
Mr. Salvin writes to me, “Of this species the following localities have to be recorded
in addition to those mentioned in your book:—Merida in Yucatan, where Dr. A. Schott
obtained specimens, one of which we possess through the kindness of the Smithsonian
Institution ; in Guatemala it is a scarce bird, and we have but one specimen, obtained at
Choctum in the lowlands of Vera Paz; in Honduras T. melanocephalus would appear to
be commoner, as the late Mr. G. M. Whitely obtained many examples of it near Medina
on the Atlantic side; on the Pacific side of the same country I once met with several birds
near La Union in the Bay of Fonseca; Mr. Belt met with it at Chontales ; and I have
seen several examples from Costa Rica, which appears to be the southern limit of its range.”
In general terms, the Trogonidm may be said to be distributed at the present day
throughout the forest-countries of the Indo-Malayan Region, Equatorial and South Africa, and
the Neotropical or South-American Region. The range of the family in past periods of the
earth’s history appears to have been much more extensive, as M. Alphonse Milne-Edwards has
identified two humeri as belonging to a species of Trogon, which were found in the Miocene
formations of the Allier, in France. These he described in his work ‘ Oiseaux Fossiles de la
France,’ ii. p. 395, as belonging to a species which he proposed to call Trogon gallicus.
In America the Trogonidse are strictly confined to the warmer parts of the southern
continent, and some of the West-India Islands ; the most northern part where they are found
in Mexico appears to be Mazatlan on the Pacific, and the valley of the Rio Grande on the
Atlantic side. Thence they spread southwards over the whole intertropical portion of South
America, and as far south as the extension of the wood-region of the southern provinces of
Brazil. Trogons are absent from the more southern portion of the continent, as well as
from the western coasts of Chili and Peru. In the West Indies the two largest islands,
Cuba and San Domingo, have each a peculiar species ; but none have yet been noticed in any
of the other islands, not even in Jamaica or Port Rico, both of which possess forests suitable
for their sustenance. From the Antilles proper I exclude the island of Trinidad and
Tobago, which belong zoologically to South America. In Trinidad two species identical
with continental ones occur.
SYNOPSIS OF THE TROGONIDJ]
SPECIES OF THE NEW WORLD.
THE ORBITS ALWAYS COMPLETELY FEATHERED.
A. Bill moderately stout; maxilla with a single terminal notch ; wing- and tail-coverts more or less elongated.
Pharomacrus.
a 1 . Occipital crest well developed; four central tail-coverts far exceeding the rectrices.
b l . Occipital crest moderate; tail-coverts shorter than, or hardly exceeding the
rectrices.
a\ Three outer rectrices terminally white.
a 3 . Occipital crest green; base only of outer rectrix black ....
V. Occipital crest golden green; basal half of outer rectrix black
b 2 . Rectrices black.
c s . Bill yellow; coverts a little longer than rectrices .....
<f. Bill red; coverts shorter than rectrices .......
1. mocinno.
2. antisianus.
3. fulgidus.
4. auriceps.
5. pavoninus.
B. Bill feeble; maxilla with a single terminal notch; wing-coverts not elongated; tail-coverts only slightly so ;
head with elongated lateral plumes .......... Euptilotis.
A single species (E. neoxenus ).
C. Bill moderate; edges of both mandibles strongly serrated; wing-and tail-coverts not elongated ; tail-feathers
without prolonged terminal emarginations; wing-coverts either wholly black or minutely freckled with black
%
and grey; throat and chest either green or blue or greyish black; no subterminal black spot on outer web of
the two outer rectrices on each side .......... Trogon.
SYNOPSIS OF THE SPECIES.
. Bill moderate; three outer tail-feathers on each side beneath either terminally
white or conspicuously banded with white; tail much rounded, lateral
feather not reaching much beyond the middle of the tail.
a 1 . Female brown or olive-brown above.
a 2 . Belly red or deep orange.
a 3 . Male with a large square terminal white spot on each of the three outer
rectrices on each side.
a 1 . Rest of these rectrices black . . ...
1.
mexicanus .
b\ „
39
93
white, freckled with black . . . .
2.
ambignus.
c\ „
33
>9
black, crossed with white bars .
3.
elegans.
d\ „
39
39
black, crossed with obsolete white bars .
4.
personatus.
b *. Male with three outer rectrices on each side black, conspicuously barred
with white bars.
e *. Terminal white bar not wider than the rest.
a 5 . Belly red ........... 5. puella.
b 5 . Belly deep orange .......... 6. aurantiiventris.
/ 4 . Terminal white bar wider than the rest . . . . . . 7. collaris.
b 2 . Belly bright lemon yellow. *
c 3 Male with three lateral rectrices on each side, barred with equal black and
white bars (except terminal white bar, which is wider); yellow of breast
deeper ...........
cl 3 . White bars on tail wider than black ones, yellow of breast paler .
b 1 . Female leaden grey above.
c 2 . Tail barred on three outer rectrices on each side in both sexes.
e 3 . Belly yellow.
g\ Head black ...........
A 4 . Head blue.
c\ Wing-coverts mottled .........
d 5 . Wing-coverts black .........
8. atricollis.
9. tenellus.
10. caligatus.
11. meridionalis.
12. ramonianns.
f s . Belly red.
i\ Head and breast dark blue ........ 13. variegatus.
A 4 . Head and breast with green shade . . . . . • • 14. behni.
d 2 . Tail in male with graduated white termination on three outer rectrices, in
female barred.
g 3 . Belly yellow.
l\ Basal half of outer rectrix white . . . . . . • 15. viridis.
m*. Base only of outer rectrix white
16. chionurus.
%
SYNOPSIS OF THE SPECIES. xix
h\ Belly red .. • 17. bairdi.
e\ Tail of female, like that of male, not barred.
i 3 . Top of head blue.
n\ Belly yellow . . ... • 18. aurantius.
o\ Belly red . 19 - surtteura.
k 3 . Top of head dark leaden grey . • • • • • • • 20. citreolus.
f\ Tail with square white terminations to the three outer rectrices in both sexes. 21. melanocephalus.
b. Bill strong ; tail-feathers beneath either wholly black or very narrowly crossed
with white bars ; no terminal white patch; tail less rounded, lateral
feather reaching far beyond middle of tail.
g\ Tail with three outer feathers on each side narrowly barred with white 22. clathratus.
h 2 . Tail wholly black beneath in male.
/ 3 . Chest with white pectoral band.
p\ Tail short, central rectrices with black terminal band above . • 23. melamrus.
q\ Tail long, central rectrices wholly green above, without terminal black
band.24. macrurus.
m 3 . Chest without white pectoral band.25. massena.
D. Throat and chest grey; a subterminal black spot on the outer web of the two outer rectrices on each side.
Tmetotrogon.
A single species (T. roseigastef).
E. Tail-feathers with prolonged terminal emarginations; wings and wing-coverts conspicuously marked with
white.. Prionoteles.
A single species (P. temnurus).
SPECIES OF THE OLD WORLD.
WITH A SPACE ROUND THE EYE MORE OR LESS DENUDED OF FEATHERS.
F. Bill moderate, maxilla serrated as in Trogon .Hapaloderma.
a. Wing-coverts indistinctly freckled with grey and black, and washed with green ;
basal half only of outer rectrix black.1. narina.
b. Wing-coverts finely freckled with grey and black; base only of outer tail-feather
black 2. constantia.
G. Bill robust, with a single terminal notch
a. Throat black.
a 1 . Size large: wing exceeding 4 inches in length.
Harpactes.
SYNOPSIS OF THE SPECIES.
a 2 . Chest black.
a\ With no white pectoral band; head black, washed with blood-red
¥. With a white pectoral band ; head without rufous.
a\ Larger, with a red nape-band.
b*. Smaller; no red nape-band . . . , ;
b 2 . Chest rosy . . . . . .
b\ Size small: wing not more than 4* inches in length.
c\ Rump scarlet ..
d 2 . Rump sandy brown . . .
b. Throat rosy red.
c\ Larger: wing 5 1 inches.
d\ Smaller: wing 5 inches . . ..
c. Throat yellow.
e\ Head green; breast yellow, with a dull green pectoral band.
e 2 , Larger: wing inches.
f. Smaller: wing 5 inches.
f\ Head yellowish; breast orange, with no pectoral band .
1 ,
2 .
3.
4.
5.
6 .
7.
8 .
' 9.
10 .
11 .
diardi.
kasumba.
fasciatus.
ardens.
duvauceli.
rutilus.'
hodgsoni.
erythrocephalus.
reinwardti.
mackloti.
oreskios.
L I S T 0 F P L AXES.
1. Pharomacrus mocinno.
2. Pharomacrus antisianus.
3. Pharomacrus fulgidus, Gould.
4. Pharomacrus auriceps, Gould.
4a. Pharomacrus auriceps ( immature male).
5. Pharomacrus pavoninus.
6. Euptilotis neoxenus, Gould.
7. Trogon mexicanus, Sw.
8. Trogon ambiguus, Gould.
9. Trogon elegans, Gould.
10. Trogon personatus, Gould.
11. Trogon puella, Gould.
12. Trogon aurantiiventris, Gould.
13. Trogon collaris, Vieill.
14. Trogon atricollis, Vieill.
15. Trogon tenellus, Cab.
16. Trogon caligatus, Gould.
17. Trogon meridionalis, Sw.
18. Trogon ramonianus, Castelnau.
19. Trogon variegatus, Spix.
20. Trogon behni, Gould.
21. Trogon viridis, Linn.
22. Trogon chionurus, Sclater fy Salvin.
23. Trogon bairdi, Lawrence.
24. Trogon aurantius, Spix.
j
25. Trogon surucura.
26. Trogon citreolus, Gould.
27. Trogon melanocephalus, Gould.
28. Trogon clathratus, Salvin.
29. Trogon melanurus, Sw.
30. Trogon macrurus, Gould.
31. TVogon massena.
32. Tmetotrogon roseigaster, Vieill.
33. Prionoteles temnurus.
34. Hapaloderma narina.
35. Hapaloderma constantia, Sharpe 8$ Usshcr.
36. Harpactes diardi.
37. Harpactes kasumba.
38. Harpactes fasciatus.
39. Harpactes ardens.
40. Harpactes duvauceli, Temm.
41. Harpactes rutilus.
42. Harpactes hodgsoni, Gould.
43. Harpactes erythrocephalus.
44. Harpactes reinwardti.
45. Harpactes mackloti.
46. Harpactes oreskios.
P HARO MAC MU S AUMICJEP
MMATURE MALE
Walter wtxp.
PHAROMACHRUS AURICEPS.
Immature Male.
It is not a little surprising that, out of the multitude of skins of the members of this family of birds that
have arrived in this country during the last twenty years, not more specimens of the immature, or what,
perhaps, ought to he called the “ second dress ” of these Trogons should have come to light. That Trogons
don a very peculiar and pleasing garb for a short time of their existence is very evident. We see this
strikingly illustrated in the youthful bird figured in the accompanying Plate; while a specimen of about the
same age, and exhibiting a similar character of markings, is figured in my Plate of Trogon melanocephalus.
The same kind of plumage is put on by the Indian Trogons, as is evidenced by the young bird figured in the
Plate of Harpactes reinwarclti.
I have never set myself up as a systematist; but yeti have never been forgetful of the importance of small
characters in the great and difficult task which lies before all ornithologists—I mean the establishment of a
purely natural system of birds. To arrive at this desirable result the works of specialists are necessary,
especially those which take the form of that most useful of all works, a complete monograph of a family or
order of birds; but in all my writings I have endeavoured to remember that a natural system of birds can
only be developed by some master mind, who will take into consideration every single aspect of the study,
and blend into one harmonious whole the elements of classification contained in the science of ornithology
—that is to say, oology, osteology, internal anatomy, &c. For such a study the variation of plumage,
too often neglected, affords most satisfactory connecting-links between families and genera of birds; and it
is for this reason that I made such a particular point of figuring all the young birds possible in my recent
wmrk on the Birds of Great Britain; and in the present volume it will be found that I have also given
illustrations of the immature plumage of the Trogons wherever practicable.
The youthful dress of the Trogonidse is perfectly unique, as far as I am aware, in the whole Avian series;
and, from the rarity of immature specimens in collections, I do not doubt that it is only put on for a very
short time, as is the case with the Flycatchers. And it is the more remarkable because in the case of
other Fissirostral Picarise such as the Kingfishers, Motmots, Jacamars, Rollers, &c. (birds somewhat allied
to the Trogons), we do not find any such striking difference between the adult and young plumages.
The specimen figured is one in my own collection, and was sent from Merida by Mr. A. Goering.
TROGON TENELLUS, Cabanis.
m
Graceful Trog*on.
Specific Character.
Trofj. splendide aurato-viridis, capite et jugulo vix saturatioribus; fronte angustd, loris et facie
laterali cum gutture toto nigris; fascia pectorali alba vix distinctd; corpore reliquo subtiis
late aurantiaco-flavo; ala, nigra, primariis anguste albo limbatis; tectricibus alarum minimis
dorso concoloribus, reliquis et secundariis extus albido transversim vermiculatis; rectricibus
duabus mediis cuprescenti-aureis nigro terminatis, duabus proximis nigris extus cuprescenti-
aureis, reliquis versus basin pogonii interni nigris, albo late terminatis et albo late fasciatis.
Rostrum flavum, versus basin virescens.
Adult Male. —Above metallic green, richer on the head, upper breast, rump, and upper tail-
coverts, and having a slightly golden appearance on the back and sides of the breast;
a narrow frontal line, lores, sides of the face, and throat black ; least wing-coverts green,
like the back, the remainder coarsely vermiculated with greyish white and black lines,
as also are the secondaries ; all the rest of the coverts and quills black, the primaries
narrowly edged with white externally ; centre tail-feathers of a burnished copper-colour,
with a terminal band of black, the next two black on the inner well and at the tip and
coppery on the outer web only; three outer tail-feathers broadly tipped with white and
banded with black and white, the bases of the inner webs black, gradually increasing in
extent towards the centre of the tail; under surface of body beautiful orange-yellow, paler
and whiter near the green of the breast, forming a very indistinct pectoral band.
Total length 9^ inches ; wing 4|; tail 6 ; tarsus §.
Trogon tenellus, Cab. J. f. O. 1862, p. 173.
- atricollis, Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1864, p. 364.—Gray, Hand-1. B. i. p. 83.
I believe this species to be distinct from Trogon atricollis, though undoubtedly very closely allied. It is a
smaller bird, and is to be further distinguished by the more distinct white barring of the tail-feathers, the
white bars being rather wider than the alternate black ones.
“This race of Trogon atricollis was first characterized by Dr. Cabanis in the ‘ Journal fiir Ornithologie’
for 1862, from a single example of a young male included in the collection formed in Costa Rica by Drs.
Hoffmann, von Frantzius, and Ellendorf, which first made us acquainted with the ornithological riches of
that, up to that time, unexplored country. Since this first specimen was obtained numerous others have
been sent from Costa Rica, where it would appear to be by no means rare in certain districts. Other
localities, mentioned in Mr. Lawrence’s list of Costa-Rica birds, published in the * Annals of the Lyceum of
New York’ in 1868, are Guiatil, Barranca, Angostura and Pacuare.
“ Costa Rica, however, is not the most northern point of the range of this bird ; for Mr. Belt, the author
of the interesting book * The Naturalist in Nicaragua,’ found it during his stay at the mines of Chontales.
“ Writing of it and of T. caligatus, he says (p. 122):—‘ Both species take short, quick, jerky flights, and
are often met with along with flocks of other birds—Flycatchers, Tanagers, Creepers, Woodpeckers, &c.,
that hunt together, traversing the forests in flocks of hundreds belonging to more than a score of
different species.The Flycatchers and Trogons sit on branches and fly after the larger insects, the
Flycatchers taking them on the wing, the Trogons from the leaves on which they have settled. In the
breeding-season the Trogons are continually calling out to each other, and are thus easily discovered.
They are called “ viadas ” (that is, “ widows ”) by the Spanish.’ ”
V
“ In Veragua T. tenellus appears to be quite abundant. Arce, to whom we are chiefly indebted for a
knowledge of the birds of that country, has sent us from time to time specimens from the Volcano of
Chiriqui and San Miguel de Bagaba, as well as from Santa Fe, Santiago de Veragua, the Cordillera de
Tole, Chitra, and Calovevora. On the Isthmus of Panama it is also common, as M‘Leannan procured many
specimens at Lion-Hill Station, and two years ago I myself shot an example in the woods near Obispo
Station. It was sitting motionless in an upright position, after the manner of its tribe, on one of the lower
branches of a forest tree, my attention being attracted by its yellow breast. Two other localities where
this bird is found on the isthmus remain to be stated—one being Chepo, where Arce secured specimens,
the other the falls of the river Truando, where Mr. C. J. Wood, who was attached to Lieut. Michler’s
exploring expedition, met with it. He says that ‘ it was seen only once in the Cordillera, and that
it was very unsuspicious and easily shot.’ ”— Salvin.
The single figure in the accompanying Plate is life-sized.
•V
TROGON AT III COLL IS, VieiUot.
Black-throated Trog’on.
Specific Character.
Trog. vertice, dorso pectoreque summo viridibus; tectricibus alarum et secundariis extus nigris
cinereo vermiculatis; primariis extus albido limbatis; regione parotica guttureque nigris;
torque pectorali albo indistincto; rectricibus duabus intermediis cuprescenti-viridibus, duabus
proximis nigris externe viridibus, reliquis nigris albo late terminatis albo et nigro trans-
fasciatis.
Foem. Capite, dorso, gutture et rectricibus sex intermediis brunneis, his nigro terminatis;
rectricibus reliquis obsoletius fasciatis; ventre aurantiaco sordidiore.
Rostrum flavum, vix olivascens.
Adult male. —Beak yellow, clouded with olive; throat and ear-coverts black; chest, top of
head, and entire upper surface green; two centre tail-feathers green, with slight bronzy
reflections, the two next on each side black, with their extreme outer edges of the same
green as the two middle ones, the tips of all being black, the three outer ones on each
side black, tipped with white, and regularly barred on the outer web with black and white
as well as towards the tip of the inner one; wing-coverts and secondaries black, finely and
delicately freckled with grey; primaries black, with a narrow external edging of white;
under surface fine orange, separated from the throat by an indistinct pectoral band of
white; feet brown.
Female.— Head, throat, upper surface, and six middle tail-feathers brown, the latter slightly
tipped with black, the remaining tail-feathers as in the male, hut not so regularly barred;
the wing-coverts freckled with brown on a black ground; the primaries black, margined
on the outer edges with white; under surface orange, but not so pure as in the male.
Total length about 9 or 10 inches; wing 44; tail 6.
Yellow-bellied Green Cuckoo. Edwards, Gleanings Nat. Hist. pi. 331.
Couroucou a queue rousse de Cayenne. Buff. PI. Enl. 736.
- orange. Levaill. H. Nat. Couroucous, p. 14, pi. 7, 8, 9.
Trogon rufus. Gm. S. N. i. p. 404.
- atricollis. Vieifl. N. Diet. d’Hist. Nat. viii. p. 318.—Id. Gal. des Ois. i. pi. 31.—
Gould, Monogr. Trogon. pi. 8.—Gray, Hand-1. B. i. p. 83.—Scl. & Salv. Nomencl.
Av. Neotr. p. 104.
- viridis. Spix, Av. Bras. i. p. 50 [nee Linn.).
Trogonurus lepturus. Swains. An. in Menag. p. 331.
Trogon chrysochlorus. Natt. & Pelz. Sitz. Akad. Wien, xx. p. 49. Pelz. Orn. Bras. p. 20.
- scalaris. Licht. in Mus. Berol. (fide Cabanis).
Pothinus atricollis. Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv. p. 180.
“There can be little doubt,” says Mr. Salvin, “that the figures of the old authors, Edwards, Buffon, and
Levaillant, quoted above, all apply to this bird, and also that a strict application of the law of priority points
to the exceedingly inappropriate title of Trogoji rufus, bestowed upon it by Gmelin, as the name this bird
ought to bear.
“ Setting 1 aside the name of T. rufus as inappropriate, and T. lepturus, proposed by Swainson, which is a
pure synonym of T. atricollis, as well as the MS. title of Lichtenstein’s quoted by Dr. Cabanis, the other
names given to this bird all refer to races or supposed races occurring in different districts of its range.
Thus the South-Brazilian bird has been separated by Herr von Pelzeln as T. chrysochlorus, and the Central-
American as T. tenellus by Dr. Cabanis, Vieillot’s name, T. atricollis being applicable to the race found in
Guiana and the valley of the Amazons.
“ Having on several occasions, both by myself and with Mr. Sclater, closely examined numerous
specimens of this bird from all parts of its range with a view to test the right of these various races to
rank as species, I have always come to the conclusion that such a rank could not be granted them without
rendering it exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to assign to every specimen its right name. To show
how varied is the state of opinion on this point, I may add that Dr. Cabanis, Mr. Gould, and Mr. Lawrence,
uphold the distinctness of T. tenellus , the two former rejecting T. chrysochlorus as distinct from T. atricollis.
Dr. Finsch agrees with Herr von Pelzeln in maintaining the specific rank of T. chrysochlorus, suggesting
(as it appears to me rightly) that the birds described in the ‘ Museum Heineanum ’ really were
T. chrysochlorus and not T. atricollis. I think myself that the differences observable are so slight that
they may be regarded rather as tendencies to vary in a particular direction in a particular locality than
as fixed, definite, specific characters. At the same time I must say that, if their separation be maintained,
the South-Brazilian has equal, if not stronger, claims to be considered distinct from the Guiana race than
the Central-American has. The Guiana bird is in fact almost precisely intermediate between the races found
in Brazil and Central America. The white hands of the tail are widest and fewest in T. tenellus, narrowest
and most numerous in T. chrysochlorus. The central tail-feathers have a bluish shade in T. tenellus, and are
most bronzy in T. chrysochlorus. The wing-coverts are coarsely mottled in the former, finely in the latter.
In all these points T. atricollis is intermediate.”
Leaving the northern form, T. tenellus, to be noticed in a separate article. I will now trace the range of
T. atricollis, including with it T. chrysochlorus.
Buffon alludes to its occurrence in Cayenne. It also occurs in Demerara, where Schomburgk met with
it; but westwards of this district I have not yet come across any recent allusion to its occurrence in
Venezuela or Trinidad, though Levaillant mentions its presence in the latter island. Throughout the valley
of the Amazons it is found apparently in abundance. Natterer obtained nine examples during his voyage at
Nas Lages, Borba, Marabitanas, Cocuy, and Barra do Rio Negro; while on the Upper Amazons, or
Solimoens, Spix met with it, and subsequently Mr. E. Bartlett within the frontiers of Peru at Chamicurros*
In Southern Brazil Prince Maximilian found it at Bahia, whence, and also from Rio de Janeiro, numerous
specimens are constantly sent to Europe. In the province of Sao Paulo Mr. J. F. Hamilton found it pretty
generally distributed throughout the forest, but not abundant in any one locality. He adds that it is of
rather solitary habits, and that he never saw two together. In the same district, at Ypanema, Natterer
secured fifteen examples, and upon these he bestowed the name chrysochlorus, afterwards described by Herr
von Pelzeln. Trogon atricollis is also found still further south, in the province of Rio Grande do Sul, whence
Mr. Rodgers has sent us specimens.
The figures in the Plate are of the natural size.
TK.OGON COIIAEI
VieiJJy.
U\
-
;
WaJt&Jmp
TROGON COLLARIS, rum.
Collared Trog*on.
Specific Character.
Supra aurato-viridis ; rectricibus duabus intermediis aurato-viridibus nigro terminatis, duabus
proximis nigris extus aurato-viridibus, reliquis nigro alboque transfasciatis; tectricibus alarum
minimis dorso concoloribus, reliquis et secundariis jlexuose nigro alboque vermiculatis;
primariis nigris extiis albo limbatis; loris, regioneparotica guldque nigris; gutture et pectore
superiore aurato-viridibus ; torque pectorali albo ; corpore reliquo subtus coccineo.
Irides saturate brunneee ; rostrum flavicanti-aurantiacum ; pedes saturate cinerei.
Fcem. Brunnea; torque pectorali albo; corpore reliquo subtus coccineo; tectricibus alarum
brunneis nigro vermiculatis; rectricibus tribus utrinque extimis nigro lineolatis et punctatis
alboque terminatis.
Rostrum brunnescenti-aurantiacum.
Adult Male. —Crown of the head and whole of the upper surface rich golden green; throat
and ear-coverts black; two middle tail-feathers golden green, the two next on each side
golden green on their outer edge, the inner webs black, and the whole six tipped with
black; the three outer feathers on each side strongly barred with black and white ;
primaries black with their outer edges white ; secondaries and wing-coverts transversely
waved with zig-zag lines of black and white; a semilunar collar of white separates the
golden green of the chest from the abdomen, which, with the under tail-coverts, is
scarlet; bill rich yellowish orange ; irides dark brown ; feet dark grey.
Female. —Head, chest, and upper surface of body brown ; the two middle tail-feathers rich
chestnut-brown, the two next on each side chestnut-brown on their outer webs and black
on the inner, the three lateral feathers on each side freckled with black and tipped with
white ; a band of white separates the brown of the chest from the abdomen, which is
scarlet as in the male; bill brownish orange.
Total length 9f inches ; bill §; wing 4|; tail 5 \; tarsi §.
Le Couroucou rosalba. Levaill. H. N. Couroucous, pi. 6.
Trogon collaris. Vieill. N. Diet. d’Hist. Nat. viii. p. 320.—Gould, Mon. Trog. ed. 1, t. 5.
Gray, Hand-1. B. i. p. 82.—Scl. & Salv. Nomencl. Av. Neotr. p. 104.
-- castaneus. Spix, Av. Bras. i. p. 48, t. 37 (fem.).
- auratus. Swains. An. in Menag. p. 329.
«- rosalba, Cuv.” Hartl. Verz. Mus. Brem. p. 12.
Trogonurus collaris. Bp. Consp. Yol. Zyg. p. 14.
Trogon eytoni. Fraser, P. Z. S. 1856, p. 368.
- elegans. Licht. in Mus. Berol. [fide Cabanis).
- eryt/irinus. Licht. in Mus. Berol. [fide Cabanis).
- curucui , Linn. Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv. p. 177.
- exoptatus, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv. p. 179.
- virginalis, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv. p. 173.
This species, by some authors supposed to be the Trogon curucui of Linnaeus (but doubtfully so, as it
appears to me), was first certainly named by Vieillot in 1817, and Levaillant’s figure of his “ Couroucou
rosalba ” referred to. It is quite possible that the Couroucoui of Marcgrave, as well as the Trogon brasiliensis
viridis of Brisson, also refer to the same species ; but of this there appears to be less certainty. Trogon
collarls has a very extensive range in South America. Levaillant’s “ Couroucou rosalba ” is said to have
come from Cayenne; and in the adjoining country of Venezuela it is also found, as well as in the island of
1 rinidad, where Leotaud and also Mr. E. C. Taylor met with it. The Venezuela bird has been separated
under the name Trogon exoptatus by Messrs. Cabanis and Heine; but, judging from a skin obtained by
M. Goering at Caripe, I more than doubt the validity of this supposed species.
Mr. Salvin’s notes on the species are as follows :—“ From the States of Columbia skins of Trogon collarls
are not unfrequently sent in the collections made in the vicinity of Bogota ; and quite recently Mr. T. K.
Salmon, who is now engaged in exploring the districts in the neighbourhood of Medellin, has sent a number
of specimens. These differ to a slight extent from normal T. collarls chiefly in having the terminal white
portion of the tail-feathers narrower. In this respect they stand in an intermediate position between/ 7 , collarls
and the Central-American T. paella, in which the terminal white tail-band is almost of the same width
as the rest of the bars of the tail. This bird has also received a name from Messrs. Cabanis and Heine,
who call it T. vlrginalls, their description being based upon specimens obtained by Fraser at Pallatanga, in
Ecuador. The difference, so far as I can see, is very slight, and traced from a very variable character in
this group of the Trogonid®. Passing on to Peru, Mons. Constantine Jelski met with T. collarls during
his expedition to the district of Junin. The places where he collected specimens are recorded by
Hr. Taczanowski as Monterico, Soriano, and Amable-Maria. Turning eastwards from this point into the
valley of the Amazons we find that Mr. Bartlett met with it both on the Upper and Lower Ucayali and also
at Chamicuros. Spix also obtained it at Tabatinga, and Natterer at Barra do Rio Negro. The latter
traveller also sent specimens from the ‘ Engenho do Capt. Gama ’ and Villa Maria, in Mato Grosso. Lastly,
in Eastern Brazil Prince Maximilian found it at Rio de San Mato, near Bahia; and under the name of
Trogon eytoni it has been recorded by Fraser from Rio de Janeiro.
“ Little has been noticed of the habits of T. collarls. Spix speaks of its food consisting of fruit and insects;
and Leotaud gives the following note of its habits as observed by him in the island of Trinidad :—‘ Ce joli
Couroucou est sedentaire ici. Ses mouvements sont lents et rarement repetes ; il semble ainsi ne renoncer
qu’a regret a un repos que troubleraient deja trop souvent les besoins de l’existence. Son cri est rond,
mais peu sonore; il a cependant un timbre qui attire fattention ; on eroit y decouvrir une certaine crainte
de rompre le silence si solennel de nos forets ; c’est le cri de certains oiseaux de proie nocturnes qui trouble
a peine le calme de la nuit. Sa parure si brillante ne redouterait point le vif eclat de la lumiere, et
pourtant l’oiseau ne quitte jamais les endroits couverts et surtout eloignes et eleves. Sa nourriture
consiste principalment en baies et en insectes.’ ”
The figures in the Plate are life-size.
J Gould & W.Hart del, et titlv.
TM.OGGW VARIEGATUS, Spue.
Walter imp.
A
TROGON VARIEGATUS, s P ix.
Purple-breasted Trogon.
Specific Character.
Viridis; capite summo et pectore superiore purpureis, fronte nigricante; tectricibm alarum el
. -m-m» -f -J • | • * * *7 T * C ...... » J * * » /, ■ Z\ /I /-> ill'l/vl’l /7l I'l l t C* /VI <1 /Tf 1* A
brunneis, extiis albido limbatis; rectricib
versus apicem late nigro et albo transfasciatis; corpore reliquo subtiis saturate coccineo ;
tibiis nigris.
Irides saturate brunnece; rostrum flavicanti-album; pedes ccerulescenti-cinerei.
, caudd brunneo tinctd ; alarum tectricibus albo fasciatis ; pectore infe-
riore albo; rectricibus tribus externis utrinque extiis albis nigro fasciatis.
Male.— Bill yellowish white; head and chest metallic purple merging into black on the
forehead; ears, throat, back, and upper tail-coverts green ; wing-coverts and secondaries
minutely waved with zig-zag markings of black and white ; two centre tail-feathers
steel-green, tipped with black, the two next on each side black, with their outer edges
green ; the three outer feathers on each side black at the base and barred with white and
black, ending in a square mark of white; the whole of the under surface deep scarlet,
thighs black ; tarsi bluish grey ; irides very dark brown.
Female. — Head, chest, and upper surface of body dark sooty-grey, the wing-coverts distinctly
barred with white ; upper part of the abdomen white, merging into scarlet on the belly
and under tail-coverts ; tail deep sooty-grey with a tinge of brown, the three outer
feathers barred with black on their outer edges.
Total length 9 inches ; wing 4 ; tail 5 ; tarsi §.
Trogon mriegatm. Spix, At. Bras. i. p. 49, taf. 38 A.— Gould, Monogr. Trogon. ed. 1, pi. 5.
_Gray, Hand-1. B. i. p. 83.—Scl. & Salv. Nomencl. Av. Neotr. p. 104.
- puppuratus. Swains. An. in Menag. p. 330.
Trogonurus variegatus. Bp. Consp. Volucr. Zygod. p. 14.
-— purpuratus. Bp. l.c. p. 14.
Hapalophorus variegatus. Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv. p. 199.
This species has an extensive range over a large portion of the empire of Brazil, though it is doubtless
found in the wooded rather than the open campos of that vast area. It is somewhat remarkable that Prince
Maximilian von Neuwied makes no mention of it in his well-known works, especially as it seems to be by
no means uncommon in the vicinity of Bahia, which was one of his chief collecting-grounds. Here it was
that Swainson obtained the specimens he subsequently described as Trogon purpuratus , the types of which
are still preserved in the museum of the University of Cambridge; and from the same district skins are sent
in some numbers in the vast collections of bird-skins so constantly forwarded to Europe.
Though common in the province of Bahia, it may he doubted if Trogon variegatus extends its range into
the more southern provinces of Brazil; but it certainly spreads over the central and western districts, as well
as throughout the valley of the Amazons. Natterer, to whom alone we are indebted for any knowledge of
the birds of the distant Brazilian province of Matogrosso, found it both at Cuyaba, Villa Maria, and Mato-
grosso, and then, after journeying down the river Madeira, he again met with it at Barra do Rio Negro, and
^ t ^ j — — / 4/ ^ * # # ITT
subsequently at Cajutuba, near Para. Mr. E. Bartlett secured specimens during his visit to the Upper
V
✓
I
Ucayali, within the dominion of Peru ; and in the same Republic Mr. Henry Whitely found it in the valley
of the Cosnipata.”
I am indebted to Mr. Osbert Salvin for the accompanying note:—
“ The name variegatus, bestowed by the traveller Spix upon this species, appears well chosen; for the
extent and character of the markings of the tail vary greatly, especially in specimens from Bahia. It may
be from having seen a greater number of specimens from this district that these variations are more
apparent in Bahian birds; but I have not yet noticed them to nearly the same extent in specimens obtained
from the western confines of the range of the species. Here the white bands of the tail appear to have
assumed a more definite order, and specimens in which these bands are almost run together (as in some
from Bahia) have not yet come under my notice. This constancy of the white bands of the tail of the
Peruvian birds, if such it is, can hardly he held to be a specific character, seeing that some Bahia birds are
precisely similar, while others differ considerably. Varying as this bird does, it is somewhat surprising that
only one synonym has been proposed for it. I may add that I sincerely trust that it may long remain the
only one! ”
The three figures in the Plate are of the natural size.
TROGON BEHNI.
Belin’s Trogon.
Specific Character.
Trog. supra splendide aurato-viridis, cupreo nitens; uropygio, supracaudalibus et rectricibus
duabus mediis splendide viridibus, his nigro apicaliter fasciatis ; duabus proximis nigris extiis
splendide viridibus, reliquis nigris albo terminatis et albo transversim fasciatis; alis nigris,
tectricibus alarum minimis dorso concoloribus, reliquis autem et secundariis externe cinereis
minutissime nigro fimbriatis, primariis anguste albido limbatis; pileo cum cervice et pectore
superiore cyanescenti-viridibus, his cupreo nitentibus; froute, loris et facie laterali cum
gutture toto nigris; torque pectorali albo distincto; corpore reliquo subtiis coccineo, hypo-
cliondriis cinereis; tibiis nigris; subalaribus et ala subtiis cinerascenti-nigris, illis interioribus
et rectricibus versus basin pogonii interni albis.
Adult male .—Crown of head, hind neck, and breast shining bluish green, with a golden
gloss on the sides of the neck and breast, the lores, sides of face, and throat black; across
the upper breast a white band; the remainder of the underparts crimson, the sides of the
body grey; the thigh-feathers black; entire back and scapulars bright coppery green,
with a golden gloss, shading off into metallic grass-green on the rump and upper tail-
coverts ; the smaller wing-coverts golden green like the back, the rest, as well as the outer
web of the secondaries, grey, most finely and delicately freckled with blackish vermicu-
lations, the remainder of the wing black, the primaries with a narrow external edging of
white; two centre tail-feathers green, with a coppery gloss, and having a tolerably broad
terminal band of black; the next two feathers black, with only the outer web coppery
green; the rest black, broadly tipped with white, and distinctly banded across with white,
the number of white bars increasing more on the outer feathers; under wing-coverts and
inner lining of wing greyish black, the innermost of the former and the inner base of the
quills white.
Total length 9 inches ; culmen §; wing 4§; tail 5 ; tarsus l
Trogon behni. Gould, MSS.
When Professor Behn, of Kiel, returned from America, he passed through London and showed me a
Trogon, which he kindly left with me as a new and undescribed species. I saw at once that it was a striking
bird and was remarkable for some red feathers in its crown. These, however, proved to have been
surreptitiously added, as might have been expected; for nature would never have acted so inharmoniouslyas
to have decorated anyone of these green Trogons, all of them so perfectly of one type, with such an anomaly
as a red crown ! But, on mature consideration, I came to the conclusion that the species was distinct on
other grounds; and I had a sketch of it prepared, and proposed to name the species after the discoverer:
this promise I now fulfil.
During the long interval that has elapsed since the Plate was drawn, two specimens have come under my
notice—one brought by Mr. Brydges from Bolivia, the other sent from Peru by Mr. Whitely. The latter
bird is in the collection of Messrs. Salvin and Godman, and has much of the appearance of an old Trogon
mriegatus, being considered by Mr. Salvin to belong to that species. The Bolivian bird, however, is
different, in the head and chest being green and not blue, while the back is of the richest bronzy or coppery
green. As there is some doubt as to the Peruvian specimen, I wish it to be understood that the Bolivian
bird, is the typical Trogon behni . This is the bird described in the present ‘ Monograph and the illustra¬
tion here given has been prepared from the same specimen.
The principal figure in the Plate is of the size of life. I regret that, by a misprint, the title has been
rendered Trogon behmi instead of T. behni.
TUGGON MACfilXRU S ? G-ouldb
<T.&eu!d& HTJdarl/ del/ efr dth/
TROGON MACRURUS, Gould.
Long-tailed Trogon.
Specific Character.
Capite corpore supra pectoreque splendide aurato-viridibus, uropygio ccerulescente; Ions, regione
paroticd et gutture nigris; alls nigris, tectricibus lineis delicatis cinereis undatim vermi -
culatis; primaries extks alba marginal; torque pectorali albo; corpore subtiis intense
coccineo; caudd nigrd, rectricibus duabus intermediis splendide virescenti-purpureis nee non
utrisque proximis duabus ad marginem externum, reliquis guttulis cinereis adspersis; rostro
flavo ; pedibus plumbeis.
Head, and all the upper surface, as well as the chest, rich golden green, tinged with blue on
the rump; lores, ear-coverts, and throat black, gradually passing into golden green;
wings black, with the centre finely striated with irregular wavy lines of greyish white,
and the primaries margined externally with white; across the breast a band of white,
beyond which all the under surface is of a rich fiery scarlet; tail black, the two centre
feathers and the external webs of the two next on each side glossed with greenish purple,
the remainder powdered with very fine specks of greyish white; bill yellow; feet lead-
colour.
Total length, 13 inches ; bill l \; wing 6§; tail 8 ; tarsi
Trogon macroura. Gould, Monogr. 1 rogon. ed. 1, pi. 17.
- macrurus. Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 70.—Id. Hand-1. B. i. p. 81. Scl. & Salv. Nomencl.
Av. Neotr. p. 104.
Curucujus macrurus. Bp. Consp. Vol. Zygod. p. 14.
Troctes macrurus. Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv. p. 203.
Judging from the very few instances in which Trogon macrurus has been met with by collectors since the
species was first brought under notice in the first edition of the ‘ Monograph, it would appear that the bird
is very local, and ranges over a very limited area. Indeed I doubt whether it is to be found beyond the
district included between the lower region of the river Magdalena and the Isthmus of Panama as far as the
base of the mountainous region of Veragua. M’Leannan obtained specimens, forwarded both to Mr.
Lawrence and to Messrs. Salvin and Godman, on the Panama-Railway line. The late Mr. Cassin says,
in his account of the birds obtained during Lieut. Michler’s survey of the Isthmus of Darien, that amongst
some young birds he attributed to T. massena , obtained on the river Fernando and the delta of the Atrato,
was one that might be the young of this species.
In the Museum Heineanum are two birds ascribed to T. macrurus, one young and one female, both
of which are said to have come from Cartagena. Beyond these meagre facts nothing is known of
this bird.
The accompanying Plate represents an old and a young bird, of the size of life.
TROGON CITREOLUS, Gould .
Lemon-breasted Trogon.
Specific Character.
Trog. corpore supra guttureque cterulescenti-viridibus; rectricibus duabus intermediis ad apicem,
proximarum duarum utrinque pogoniis internis, reliquisque ad basin nigris, his apicem
versus albis; ventre citrino in aurantiacum vergente; alis brunnescenti-nigris, primariorum
pogoniis externis albo fimbriatis; rostro ccerulescenti-corneo; pedibus brunneis.
Foem. Capite, gutture dorsoque saturate cinereis ; rectricibus sex intermediis brunnescenti-
nigris ; in reliquis mari simillima.
Male. —Crown of the head, neck, back, and throat bluish green ; tips of the two middle
tail-feathers, the internal web of the two next on each side, and the base of the
remainder black, the rest of each feather white; abdomen lemon-yellow, passing into
orange ; wings brownish black, the outer webs of the primaries fringed -with white ;
bill bluish horn-colour ; feet brown.
Female. —Head, throat, and back dark grey ; six middle tail-feathers brownish ; in other
respects the same as the male.
Total length 105 inches; bill 1; wing 5{; tail 6 ; tarsi §.
Trogon citreolus. Gould, P. Z. S. 1835, p. 30.—Id. Monogr. Trog. ed. 1, pi. 13.—Gray,
Hand-1. B. i. p. 82.—Scl. & Salv. Nomencl. Ay. p. 104.
lucidus. Licht. in Mus. Berol. (fide Cabanis).
Agamus citreolus. Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv. p. 197.
This interesting and very rare Trogon is a native of Mexico, and inay be distinguished from most other
known species by the delicate lemon-yellow of the under surface, by the greater extent of the white on the
lateral tail-feathers, and by the uniform colouring of the central portion of the wing.
The foregoing paragraph relates all that was known of the species at the time of publication of the first
edition of the ‘ Monograph but I have lately been indebted to my kind friend Mr. Salvin for the following
account of the species :—
“ Of this well-marked species but little is known. The original specimens, formerly in the collection of
the Zoological Society, came from Mexico; but, beyond the indication of the particular places where the
species occurs in that country, next to nothing has been added to its history. Herr Deppe, who so largely
enriched the Berlin Museum with specimens of the natural objects of Mexico, obtained this bird at Tequistlan
and Tehuantepec; and at this latter place Col. A. J. Grayson also met with it. The same careful explorer
also says, in a note given in Mr. Lawrence’s “Catalogue of the Birds of North-Western Mexico” in the
second volume of the ‘ Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History,’ that the bird is well distributed
throughout the forests of the tierra caliente of that region, which includes the district round Mazatlan, where
both Col. Grayson and Mr. Xantus procured specimens. Mr. Lawrence says that the collections sent from
Tehuantepec by Prof. Sumichrast to the Smithsonian Institution contained numerous specimens of
T. citreolus. At one time I thought that this Trogon might be included in the birds of Guatemala; but this
supposition has not received actual confirmation, though I still think it far from improbable that the bird is
to be found in the forests of the province of Soconusco, if not actually in Guatemalan territory. One point
seems certain, that its range is restricted to the forests of the western slope of the Cordilleras, which spread
out to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
“ It remains to be stated that Messrs. Cabanis and Heine, in their account of T. citreolus, place as a
synonym T. capistratus of Lesson, described in the ‘Revue Zoologique’ for 1842, p. 136. But from the
locality (Realejo) in Nicaragua whence Lesson’s bird was obtained, and the vagueness of the description, I
am inclined to assign this name as a synonym of T. melanocephalus. The latter bird, as I know from
personal observation, is quite common on the shores of the Gulf of Fonseca, Realejo being distant only a
few hours’ sail. However, Dr. Cabanis may be right; and in that case it is more than likely that the locality
assigned to Lesson’s specimen is erroneous, and that it really came from further up the coast.”
The figures in the Plate are of the size of life, and represent the usual coloration of the bird.
TROGON MERIDIONALIS, Swaim,
Little Trogon.
Specific Character.
Trog. capite pectoreque purpureis, aliquando viridi tinctis; auribus guttureque nigris; ilorso
saturate aureo-viridi; alls nigrescenti-brunneis, remigibus albo marginatis, secundariis tegmi-
nibusque pulverulenti-cinereis; ventre aurantiaco; rectricibus intermediis duabus duarumque
utrinque proximarum pogoniis externis viridibus, harum, pogoniis internis nigris, his omnibus
nigro apiculatis, reliquis albo nigroque fasciatis.
Rostrum plumbeum, ad apicem pallidius ; pedes saturate plumbei.
Foem. Saturate cmruleo-cana, ventre aurantiaco ; alis nigris, secundariis tegminibusque albo
transversim lineatis ; remigibus extimis utrinque tribus ad basin nigris, pogoniis externis albis
nigro fasciatis.
Male. —Crown of the head and chest rich purple, changing to greenish purple in some
specimens ; throat and ears black ; back and upper tail-coverts dark green tinged with
gold; wings blackish brown, the primaries edged with white, secondaries and lesser
wing-coverts finely powdered with grey ; breast and underparts rich orange ; middle
tail-feathers deep green, two next on each side green on their outer webs and black
on the inner, all six tipped with black, three outer feathers on each side strongly
barred with lines of black and white ; bill lead-colour, lighter at the tip ; feet dark
lead-colour.
Female. Whole of the head, chest, back, and six middle tail-feathers dark bluish grey; the
three lateral feathers on each side black at their base, their outer edges white barred
with black; wings black, secondaries and lesser wing-coverts finely marked with trans¬
verse lines of white; under surface orange; bill dark horn-colour.
Total length 8f inches; bill 1; wing 4^; tail 4§ tarsi \.
Trogon meridionalis. Swains. An. in Menag. p. 332.
sulphureus. Spix, Av. Sp. Nov. vol. i. pi. 38, p. 48?—Scl. & Salv. Nomencl. p. 104.
—Gray, IIand-1. i. p. 83.
Aganus caligatus. Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv. p. 186.
'• devillii. Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv. p. 191.
- crissalis. Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv. p. 190.
?Trogon violaceus. Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 404.
Aganus violaceus. Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv. p. 190.
Trogon sulphureus. Spix, Leotaud, Ois. Trin. p. 101.
This species is very sparingly dispersed over the northern parts of Brazil, but is more abundant in Cayenne,
Trinidad, and the adjacent islands* It is one of the commonest species in our cabinets, there being few
collections sent from the last-named countries which do not contain examples.
The birds figured by Dr. Spix under the name of Trogon sulphureus are in all probability intended
for this species, but in several particulars do not accord with it : I have therefore considered it best
to adopt the name assigned to it by Mr. Swainson, who has paid much attention to the South-American
members of this group.
Ihe sexes offer the usual differences in the colour of their plumage, the male being clothed above
with rich green, while the female has the same parts dark bluish grey: the young during the first year
are like the female.
Thus much, excepting the synonymy, was said in the first edition of this Monograph ; and I really have
not much more to add, further than that my figures are made from Trinidad specimens. In order to throw
as much light as possible^ on this somewhat intricate subject I have availed myself of Mr. Salvin s
experience, which is embodied in the following note:—
“ The first point to look to in determining a member of this very difficult section of the Trogonidae is to
see if the crown of the head is black or blue. If the former, the bird doubtless belongs to T. caligatus, i. e.
the caligatus of the second edition of this work. If the head is blue the bird belongs either to T. meri¬
dionalis, to T. ramonianus , or to a race closely allied to one or other of these birds—'the difference between
the two named being further shown by the wing-coverts of the former being mottled grey and black, while
in the latter these are almost wholly black. It is not always possible to distinguish birds belonging to the
blue-headed group with certainty, as not unfrequently specimens occur which have the wing-coverts only
slightly mottled, thus showing that indications are not wanting to prove that T. meridionalis and
T. ramonianus gradually merge into one another. This fact determined Mr. Sclater and myself to place
both under the name T. meridionalis in our ‘ Nomenclator Avium Neotropicalium.’
“ To Trogon meridionalis the name T. violaceus of Gmelin has been applied by several authors ; but this
is a point I think that can never be satisfactorily determined ; and as Gmelin’s name is introduced with a
description so manifestly inaccurate, for instance where he speaks of its yellow eyebrows ! the selection
of the first name, about which there can be no doubt, is by far the preferable plan to be adopted. This
undoubtedly is Swainson’s title bestowed upon this bird in 1838. It has been suggested (Mon. Trog.
ed. 1, t. 9) that Spix’s name T. sulphureus might be intended for this species; and so far as the female is
concerned I am inclined to think this may be so; but the male, I have less doubt, belongs to F. atricollis ; so
that the name T. sulphureus had best be dismissed also.
“ Swainson’s bird, which is still extant in the museum of the University of Cambridge, is said to have
been obtained in the Bahama Islands by Mr. Lees. This locality is doubtless incorrect, as is also shown by
other birds described by Swainson from Mr. Lees’s collection, and there is every reason to suppose that the
specimen really came from Trinidad or Venezuela.
Most unfortunately for the puzzling synonymy of this group of Trogons, Messrs. Cabanis and Heine did
not consult the first Part of this edition of the * Trogonidae ’ when compiling their account of the family in
the fourth part of the ‘ Museum Heineanum ;’ its existence was doubtless unknown to them. They would
probably have been saved the attempt made to fix the name caligatus to a blue-headed bird from Cartagena,
and also the description of the true T. caligatus of Central America under the new name of Aganus braccatus.
Other species of this form are described by the same authors, the validity of which l have no means of
testing beyond the published descriptions. These are :— Aganus lepidus, from Ecuador, which appears to
me more likely to be T. caligatus than any thing else ; Aganus crissalis, from Bahia, whence I have never
yet seen specimens (this bird is described as having a blue head); Aganus devillii, based upon a description
by MM. Deville and Des Murs of a bird from Santa Maria, on the Upper Amazons, and supposed by them
to be Trogon meridionalis of Swainson. Further research will be necessary to establish these supposed
species.
“ To M. Leotaud we are indebted for a knowledge of the habits of this bird, as observed by him in the
island of Trinidad. He says it leads the same kind of life as T. viridis.
The figures in the accompanying Plate are life-size, and from Trinidad specimens.
- 3*31
HARPACTES ERYTHROCEPHALUS,
Red-headed Trog’on.
Specific Character.
Harp, capite guttureque sordide sanguineis, torque gutturali angusto albo; corpore reliquo subtiis
coccineo; tergo arenaceo-castaneo ; tectricibus alarum superioribus nigro alboque fimbriatis ;
remigibus nigris, extus albo limbatis; rectricibus duabus mediis castaneis nigro apicatis,
duabus proximis utrinque nigris, reliquis nigris, albo late terminatis.
Fcem. Capite guttureque arenaceo-brunneo; torque pectorali magis distincto; tectricibus alarum
brunneo nigroque fasciatis.
Rostrum brunneum ; mandibularum basis et regio parotic a nudae coccineae.
Male— The head, throat, and chest dull red, with a narrow band of white separating the chest
from the breast; the rest of the under surface bright scarlet; back and upper tail-coverts
sandy-brown; the wing-coverts finely lined with black and white ; primal ies black,
externally margined with white ; two middle tail-feathers chestnut-brown tipped with
black, the next two on each side wholly black, the rest black only at their base, with
the remaining portion white ; naked space round the eyes red; bill black.
Female. —Similarly clothed to the male, except that the whole head and chest are sandy brown,
and the linear markings on the wing are brown on a black ground instead of white, which
is characteristic of the male only.
Total length from 12 to 13 inches; wing 5 ; tail 6| to 7.
Trogon erythrocephalus. Gould, P. Z. S. 1834, p. 25.—Id. Monogr. Irogon. pi. 33.
- -flagrans. Midi. Tijdschr. N. G. 1835, p. 336, pi. 8. fig. 2.
Harpactes erythrocephalus. Sw. Classif. B. ii. p. 337.—Gray, Gen. B. i. p. 71. Id. Hanu-1.
B. i. p. 84.
-— flagrans. Gray, Gen. B. iii. App. p. 4.—Bp. Consp. i. p. 151.
Pyrotrogon flagrans. Bp. Consp. Volucr. Zyg. p. 14.—Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv.
p. 160, note.
Messrs. Cabanis and Heine, in their excellent account of the Trogonidse in the ‘ Museum Heineanum,’
separate Pyrotrogon hodgsoni and P. erythrocephalus as two distinct species, keeping the latter title for the
Sumatran bird. They state that the latter is very like P. hodgsoni, but is smaller in every way, with a
shorter wing and tail, the bill being a trifle shorter and stouter and brighter-coloured. As will be seen by
a reference to the first edition of this * Monograph,’ the above remarks are very similar to those made by
myself respecting these two species ; but I have not been able since the publication of that opinion, to add
to it either one way or the other; for, beyond the specimens submitted to me by Mr. Temminck, I have
seen no more Sumatran examples. While admitting the smaller size and probable distinctness of the island
form, I must remind ornithologists that it will probably have to bear the title of H. flagrans (Mull.), as my
H. erythrocephalus came from Burmah, and the probability is that the Burmese and Nepalese Red-headed
Trogons are not distinct from each other. The following are the comparative measurements of H.
hodgsoni and Sumatran H. erythrocephalus :—
H. hodgsoni. Total length 13i inches ; wing 51; tail 8 ; tarsus t.
H. erythrocephalus. Total length 111 inches; wing 5 ; tail 6J ; tarsus f.
The figures in the Plate are, as nearly as possible, of the natural size.
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